Countdown to Homecoming Part 3
Heather is wandering around a seemingly abandoned amusement park. The darkness is overwhelming as the young woman hears the sounds of creatures lurking in the shadows. Heather is able to avoid the monsters the hunt her as she makes her way onto a rollercoaster she follows the tracks, hoping to escape the park. She is unlucky in her actions as a ride car strikes her; the world goes black
Thus begins Silent Hill 3, which unlike the standalone second installment, serves as a direct sequel to the original game. Shirking the sometimes convoluted storyline of the second game for a more straightforward adventure, Silent Hill 3 tells the story of Heather Mason, a seventeen year old girl who survives a hellish transformation in her neighborhood mall only to have the death of her father lead her to Silent Hill, a town she has been to once before.
Intrigued? Follow the jump for more in Silent Hill 3
Silent Hill 3 saw an American release in August of 2003 for the Playstation 2. Gamers who picked up the latest installment were in familiar territory as the core gameplay of the series remained almost unchanged. While half the game takes place outside of the famed town, players still solved puzzles, fought disgusting creatures, and explored the darkness armed with a flashlight and a static-emitting radio. The biggest difference being the aforementioned setting. A great deal of time was spent trying to figure out why exactly a seemingly normal shopping center far from Silent Hill was still effected by the town's power. In Silent Hill 2, the town was able to reach out to people in a means to draw them in, yet this would be the first occurrence of the town actually expanding its physical presence.
Who is Heather Mason?
One of the endings of the original Silent Hill has Harry Mason find a baby girl after his fight with the demon god. Well it has been 17 years since Harry left Silent Hill, and that baby girl has grown into a teenager, whose name and hair color has been changed. Heather Mason is the reincarnation of Cheryl and Alessa, and that makes her a valuable tool to some of the town's shadiest residents.
Who wants Heather Mason back in Silent Hill
Her name is Claudia Wolf and like any good cult leader, she wants to summon a god. Like Alessa, Claudia's motivation for resurrecting the god, Samael, is to end the suffering she endured as a child. Claudia was abused by her father from a young age and believes Samael can reverse the pain that was caused to her, and as Alessa's reincarnation, Heather is the only want to accomplish this goal.
So how did Claudia track Heather Down?
Private Investigator Douglas Cartland was hired by Claudia to find Heather. Being a desperate man who lost his family, Cartland takes the job and locates Heather at the mall. Once he has found Heather, Claudia is then able to get inside Heather's mind in an effort to draw the girl back to Silent Hill. This explains the weirdness that takes place in the mall, which changes from normal to decrepit much like the town itself. While Douglas is hired by Claudia, his loyalty shifts to Heather pretty early on and he remains her ally until the end.
How does Heather finally get drawn back to Silent Hill?
Did you not read the second paragraph of this? Harry Mason does not get to enjoy a happy ending. His murder is what finally triggers Heather's journey back to her birthplace.
Anyone else getting involved in this little adventure?
Vincent, a fellow cult member is not entirely on Claudia's side. Make no mistake, he has his own agenda, one that involves preventing the resurrection of Samael because the birth of the god means the end of the world. I guess even cult members enjoy not being blinked out of existence, well those that don't drink the kool-aid.
C'mon, tell us how one of these games ends!
There are two main endings, the "bad one" has Cheryl stopping the Samael, but in the process becoming severely disturbed. The game ends with Heather stabbing Douglas and feeling no guilt for her crime. The other ending, which is usually taken as cannon has Heather defeating Samael and pretending to be possessed until she almost stabs Douglas before revealing it to be a joke. Heather has one massively screwed up sense of humor, but I guess it beats turning into a psycho. The greater implications of this game regardless of the ending is that the cult presence in Silent Hill has been removed. This also ends much of the ongoing story of Silent Hill. The next two games released will deal with a serial killer and the origins of the town respectively.
The Music of Silent Hill 3
The American release of the game included the games soundtrack on a bonus disc. This soundtrack featured several vocal tracks from the game, most of these songs were performed by voice actress Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, who may be remembered from her role as Julia in the Cowboy Bebop anime. The music of this soundtrack is especially notable as it was used in the film adaptation of the series. In this writer's opinion, this is some of the best music to be featured in a video game.
Leaving the mall
While it was not nearly as complex as Silent Hill 2, the storyline of Silent Hill 3 benefits from the personality injected in it by the series only female protagonist. Heather Mason's connection to Silent Hill comes from who she is, and not from her actions. This plays on the theme of destiny and fate. Every character in the game is attempting to control Heather. From Claudia using her to resurrect a god to her father who is trying to protect her from her past by choosing to keep her in the dark, there is a need to control Heather. Even the player, who guides Heather through the game is preventing this woman from having any choice in her life. Heather does not regain control until the final scene leading up to the credits.
In our next chapter:
Stay in you home, it isn't like you'll be able to leave even if you wanted. Oh wait, what's the hole doing in your bathroom wall?
TheDoctor
Posted to Video Games on 18 September 2008
· Comments (1)
Other stuff like this: cults, heather mason, konami, retrospective, silent hill 3
I'm lovin these silent hill features,I'm new to the series just completed the 1st game and now I have bought all the rest from eBay.not sure to start silent hill 2 or silent hill 0 ???????